Thursday, May 27, 2010

I tried doing a video last night for you guys, but couldn't get the project to do what I wanted. Things are just busy, busy around here lately. I've been focusing a lot on working out - which takes a lot of my would be craft time. We are also waiting to hear back about a house we are trying to buy, & I'm packing and all that good stuff. So, with my 2 year old and 10 month old underfoot I'm pretty much rush rush all day long.

I'll be back in full swing soon, and hope to devote extra time over the long weekend to filming several projects to help me catch back up!

Sunday, May 23, 2010

I've been hard at work lately making the decorations for my daughter's 2nd birthday party. I used my Cricut and mainly the Sweet Treats Cartridge, but I also used Plantin Schoolbook, Ashylyns Alphabet, Celebrations, & Tie the Knot.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

I made this card for Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo Challenge # 48. The colors were Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, and Crushed Curry... but I used Summer Sun instead of Crushed Curry.

It's a 4 inch square card front, with a 2 and 1/2 inch square green paper that I stamped with Old Olive spots using the Dot Dot Dot stamp from Stampin' Up. The little guy, who I am calling a monster in this case is a little alien from a set called Greetings Earthling, also by Stampin' Up. The Happy Happy Birthday Sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's set Everyday Occasions. The ribbon is just some cheap stuff from the Target dollar spot.

I am really starting to enjoy doing challenges! I think of projects I never would have otherwise and it's a really cool feeling. I think this will be a great card for a little boy!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I feel very honored to pass this along to everyone. Crafter's Companion has decided to feature my blog in their latest newsletter, and they've created a special coupon code for my blog visitors to get $10 off the Ultimate Crafter's Companion! Isn't that just awesome!

All you have to do is buy the tool directly from them at their website and use the coupon code "AMBER" when checking out to get the discount.

A big thanks to Gary from Crafter's Companion for being so awesome and allowing me to share this fabulous discount with all my wonderful followers!

This tool really does a lot. There's a great video on their site showing what it can do, and I've featured it in Episodes - 43, 42, 5, & I know I've done bow-tying with it in other videos, but can't remember which ones. *LOL* I have to laugh watching episode 5 because I sound so cheesy! :) I swear I can't STAND the sound of my own voice, it kills me. But, it's still a very informative episode, so I thought I'd share it again anyways. I'm hoping to make another couple box projects soon, so stay tuned for those.

Monday, May 17, 2010

I wanted to make something special for a graduation card. The young lady sent us a lovely invitation for the ceremony, and I cut the school crest out to use on the card. I felt that added a lovely keepsake feel and of course made it more personalized.

I chose the sentiment Dream from Gypsy Wanderings because I just liked it a bit better than Congrats. I love the butterfly that is part of the image and I just think graduating is all about hopes and dreams for the future.

I used Everyday Paper Dolls to cut out the little doll and all the accessories, but then I cut off the dolls head and used a photo instead. It makes it a little cheesy, sure, but it's cute if you ask me, and of course it's VERY personalized.

Thanks for stopping by! I did try and make this video, but I messed that up royally... so... yeah... no video today! *LOL*

Friday, May 14, 2010

I made this cute page of my daughter this morning. I used the Ultimate Crafter's Companion to create the scallop on the top, and it's got an embossed edge all the way around, which I think looks awesome, but of course embossing never photographs the way I want it to.

I used the Create a Critter cartridge for the Cricut to create the title and the ladybug. If you'd like all the sizing and to see how I put it together you can watch the video I've included. It's just under 5 minutes long :)

I made this card SO simple, but it is perfect because I want to use up a lot of stickers I have laying around, and I think it would be perfect for a man, which is great because I don't have many masculine cards around if I need one last minute.

The tree is from Gypsy Wanderings.

At first when I heard the colors for the challenge I felt stumped, but then I started having all kinds of ideas. I almost made an owl on a branch with leaves and a sun, but I decided to do this instead because it was faster! *LOL* I was feeling lazy, but still wanted to challenge myself with the colors and have fun participating.

I will probably be doing a bunch of cards using up stickers and various supplies here soon. We're hoping to be moving in a couple months so de-cluttering my stash would really help the process :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

Here's a really simple little card I made with a new stamp set I got from Clear Dollar Stamps. I'm just in love with it! I had another card in mind, but after messing it up 3 times, yes 3! *LOL* I decided to do a really simple little card for now, and try another one again soon. The video is super short, under 3 minutes long. I have been trying to make my videos pretty short most of the time because I know we all have busy lives. Enjoy!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

I wanted to make something really fabulous to send to Tracy, Miss Craft Junkie Too. She's such a big inspiration to me, and a real nice gal too! I decided to make a set of adorable paper shoes. I got a free template online and made two of them, the template can be found here

As a finishing touch I made a really cute shoe box for them.

I wanted to make a little something cute to match, so I settled on one of the darling purses from the Forever Young Cricut cartridge. I wanted to add something special to it. It closes with velcro that is hidden under a chipboard flower. For the handle I used some thick brown grosgrain ribbon, but the really cool thing is that I took rhinestone brads and put them in the ribbon! I just used my paper piercer to make small holes to slip the brads through and I just love the effect. I think it is super fun and adds a lot to it.

The last item is just a simple shaped card, I made it for one of my National Scrapbooking day challenges, so it's already been posted on the blog, but since it's part of this girlie set I thought I'd include it here too. It's made with the Forever Young cartridge also, and I just did a little bit of really simple welding with my Gypsy to make it a card.

This has got to be one of the best projects I've ever done. I really, truly love it. All the papers are from the We R Memory Keepers stack, Tiffany's. Just love that stack! Perfect for projects like this.

If anyone has an interest in seeing me put the shoes together on video, let me know and I can make another pair.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I wanted to do so much more. I have been agonizing over making this card for weeks, and I just couldn't seem to get an idea I liked. I considered stamping, Cricut, you name it. Ideas whirled and whirled through my head and I could come to no decision on what I wanted to do. What colors would I chose, what techniques would I use? I mean, really, crazy obsessing.

My Aunt's birthday is tomorrow, and there was no more time to obsess. The truth is, I just didn't have a good idea this time around. No amount of looking at sketches or twirling ideas in my head did anything for me, so this is what I did.

This is a patterned paper from the Die Cuts With a View Stack called Nanas Kids. I cut it to make a very large card, that measures 6 by 8. The larger size alone adds to the special feel of it. On the front I used my Versa Marker to write "For Auntie" and I embossed it with Kaleidoscope embossing powder by Stampendous. It's transparent, with glitter. It didn't photograph well, but is lovely in person and REALLY matches perfectly with the glitter and embossing on the paper, it looks like part of it. Kind of a different effect, and I really like it.

On the inside I used a couple strips from that same piece of paper and stamped 2 images from the Close to My Heart stamp set called A Piece of Cake, which was a stamp of the month. I used Stampin Up Inks Pretty in Pink and Pale Plum. Then I wrote Happy Birthday and signed it.

Done! Pretty! Why am I still feeling guilty this card was so easy? Do any of you obsess over things like this? Isn't it silly, this is the only handmade card she'll get for her birthday,and it's done on time, so what is there to feel guilty about?

Sunday, May 2, 2010

So, yesterday was my first National Scrapbooking Day. I played along with My Pink Stamper all day long, and had a blast. I also completed gifts for Mother's Day and a poster for my daughter's party. Doing 3 more of those lilac plaques was kind of a drag, but I got it done first thing in the morning and that helped. I'll be sharing my daughter's party decor in the coming weeks.

Here are some of my projects from yesterday. I did all 12 challenges, but these are the ones I ended up liking.